Frankfurt am Main – The mechanical and plant engineering sector faces enormous challenges. While there are slight signs of improvement on the horizon, the COVID-19 crisis continues to take a significant toll on companies and workers. It will be a long time before the industry returns to pre-crisis levels, yet it must continue to address the transformation process. IG Metall will discuss how this can be achieved with 200 works council members on September 17 at its first-ever virtual mechanical engineering conference.
“Effective works councils and a strong union presence in the workplace are crucial for the mechanical and plant engineering sector—as the industry with the highest employment and a high level of innovation—to meet these challenges,” emphasizes Wolfgang Lemb, executive board member of IG Metall.
In addition to a discussion between Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall, and Hubertus Heil, Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, on current political measures, Wolfgang Lemb, Executive Board Member of IG Metall, will discuss the current state of the industry with Thilo Brodtmann, CEO of the VDMA.
As part of this debate, the results of an IG Metall survey of 600 works council members in the industry will also be presented. The survey clearly shows that it is the employees who are bearing the brunt of the crisis. Thirty-seven percent of respondents estimate that the number of employees in the industry will decline over the next six months, and 20% of respondents even expect layoffs.
In the first survey conducted in June, this figure stood at 12.5%, so employees have increasing cause for concern. Particularly alarming: 35% of companies have reduced their apprenticeship positions compared to 2019.
All of this shows that companies are repeating old mistakes: they are cutting costs in the short term instead of retaining or training the urgently needed qualified skilled workers for the long term.
Relocation remains an issue in 23% of companies, an increase of 6 percentage points compared to June. In a crisis that has made it clear just how crucial local value creation is, this sends the wrong signal.
Policymakers are now called upon to set the course to secure the future of Germany’s largest industrial sector and its approximately one million employees.
An active and strategically oriented industrial policy is needed for Germany and the European Union. Investments in people, equipment, and research and development are essential, just as active worker participation, high-quality vocational training and continuing education, and social security are crucial for employees. These points and further recommendations are also included in the joint statement on crisis management and securing the industry’s future, which concludes the Mechanical Engineering Conference.
Note: The joint declaration will be available on the IG Metall press portal following its adoption.
To the declaration of IG Metall’s 2020 Virtual Mechanical Engineering Conference
Further information and press photos of Wolfgang Lemb
